TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that an Essex County man has been sentenced
to state prison for attempting to steal
automobiles from a storage lot of the Port
Authority of New York & New Jersey.

According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald
Chillemi, Dwan Matto, 31, of Newark, was
sentenced Friday (May 27) to three years
in state prison by Superior Court Judge
Ronald Lee Reisner in Monmouth County. Matto’s
sentence was based on his March 3 guilty
plea to an accusation which charged him
with third-degree attempted theft by unlawful
taking or disposition. At the time of his
guilty plea, Matto also pleaded guilty to
Monmouth County charges and his sentence
on the county charges will run concurrent
to his sentence on those brought by the
state.

In
pleading guilty, Matto admitted that on
April 13, 2010, he attempted to steal a
2010 Cadillac CTS valued at $43,040 and
a 2010 Dodge Challenger valued at $28,125,
from a storage lot of the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey. Matto was arrested
after he was observed in the Port Authority
Auto Terminal and chased into the adjacent
parking lot.

Detective
Jarek Pyrzanowski and Deputy Attorney General
Nicole D. Rizzolo were assigned to the investigation.
Rizzolo represented the Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Danielle
Zanzuccki represented the state at the sentencing.
Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi
thanked the Port Authority of New York &
New Jersey Police Department and the CSX
Transportation Police Department for their
assistance in the investigation.